The Light Age
by Supermorff
Summary: At the end of the season 2 ep 'The Dark Age', Angel is possessed by the demon Eyghon. However, Eyghon is not the only demon destroyed, and suddenly Angel has to deal with being human for the first time in 200 years.


Set during the Buffy Season 2 episode 'The Dark Age', this story addresses what would have happened if Eyghon had not been the only demon destroyed in the conflict at the end. A standard Angel-becomes-human story. Short and mostly sweet.

**Spoiler warning:** There are minor spoilers for 'The Dark Age', although some knowledge of that episode would help this story make sense anyway.

**Disclaimer:** I haven't paid for any characters or places, so I own none of them. Nevertheless, just as Joss has creative control of the show, I suppose I have creative control of this story.

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Buffy nursed her head and leant on her elbows. There was the demon, Eyghon the Sleepwalker, currently using Jenny Calendar as a host, standing above Giles ready to strike, to kill him and move into his lifeless body. Buffy willed herself to move, but the blow had taken a lot out of her and she didn't have the strength to support herself. There was Ethan Rayne on the other side of the room, cowering behind the overturned table on which he had bound her and tattooed the Mark of Eyghon on her back. The process, and the powerful blast from Eyghon, had left her drained, and she could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Sleepwalker prepared to kill her Watcher. Then, all of a sudden, an unexpected party came to the rescue. 

Angel crashed through the door and literally tore the demon away from Giles, beating Jenny's body as much as he dared, then began to throttle her. He had to force the demon to jump, to escape from Jenny's body. And it had to do it before she died. Whereas Buffy was physically drained, Giles was more wounded by the fact that a trusted friend, Angel, was strangling his girlfriend.

"He's killing her," he managed to croak, clambering to his feet as Willow, Xander and Cordelia appeared in the doorway.

"No, trust me!" cried Willow, holding him back as Angel fought Eyghon. "This is gonna work." Buffy was confused. As Xander helped her to her feet, she wondered what Willow was planning. Why was she so calm?

Suddenly, the fighters flew apart. Jenny Calendar, her skin now free of the Sleepwalker's demonic taint, landed on the ground, gasping for breath. Giles immediately ran – or hobbled – to her rescue. Angel however, was thrown back into the wall as Eyghon's essence barrelled into his lifeless body. Willow must have known that Eyghon, if threatened, would jump into the nearest dead body. From within, it probably couldn't tell the difference between a corpse and a vampire.

Buffy watched in horror as her lover was wracked with pain. Every so often the Sleepwalker's face rose to the surface, battling for dominance with Angel's own vampiric visage and his human one.

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_Eyghon appeared in a dark plane. Considering that the body was cold, inside he was very lively. In fact, there were already two souls present, and they didn't look happy to have a guest. One was human, by the looks of him, his cheeks streaked with tears and hunched over. The other was a monster, hideous and twisted. But behind the snarling and gnashing of teeth, there was a cunning in his eyes, a real propensity for evil. Over a hundred years, the two souls had learned to live together, despite their differences. And neither of them wanted to share any more._

_The vampire reacted first, slashing with his claws at the trespasser. A gash appeared down Eyghon's arm, and he spun away, avoiding another swing. Eyghon delivered a blow to the vampire's back, but it appeared unfazed. Instead, the vampire's arm snaked his arm around the demon's neck and quickly got behind him, craning his neck to drink. There was a crunch as his fangs broke the Sleepwalker's skin and ethereal demonic blood poured into his mouth, empowering him. Eyghon, screaming in indignation, wrenched the vampire's head back and threw him off. They turned to face each other again, each delivering punches and kicks, blocking what they could and dodging the rest. They continued in that stalemate for a while, attacking, blocking, ducking, weaving, until finally the Sleepwalker noticed an opening, and took advantage of it. His fist shot forward and through the vampire's stomach, spilling blood on the floor._

_The vampire looked down in horror. He had never been defeated before. In all the time when he controlled the body he had been superior to everyone but the Master, and even then he'd won a victory of sorts. And since being confined to this dank plane, he had made the soul suffer with his constant taunts and memories. Odd, he thought in his final convulsions, that the human soul had never really stood up for himself. Just like a human… weak._

_Eyghon grinned as the demonic resident of this place dissolved before his eyes. Then he turned to face the human. The embodiment of good in this place, the Angelic one, dried his eyes and rose up. He smiled. Before Eyghon could react, Angel was in his face, pile-driving his fists into the Sleepwalker's amazed body. Just because he was human, that didn't mean he was weak. To have survived in this desolate place for a hundred years, with a cruel and sadistic monster his only company, he had to be strong not to go mad. Eyghon never knew what hit him, because in seconds, his neck was broken and his soul was being ejected from the body to dissipate._

_Angel sat down. Yes he was strong, but his body was dead. And without the demon vying for power anymore, so was he. Everything went black._

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As soon as Angel's body hit the ground, Buffy was by his side, cradling his head in her lap.

"Angel?" He wasn't responding. "Angel, please wake up." Willow was by her now, and she was looking down at Angel's body in horror. She hadn't meant for anything bad to happen to him. She'd thought that Eyghon would go in and be destroyed, and that would be that.

Buffy and Willow both jumped back as Angel's chest rose up and he gasped for air. Then the body calmed, but Angel's head rolled back and forth and a strange rasping sound emanated from his throat. My god, thought Willow, he's trying to breathe. Eventually, his roving eyes alighted on Buffy.

"B-buffy?" he croaked, quietly, as if he hadn't the energy to force the word out. Buffy forced herself to smile, ignoring the trail of tears that now scorched her cheeks.

"Hey," she said.

"Buffy, I love you. I'm sorry I never told you before, I'm sorry I'll never get to say it again."

"No, Angel, don't talk like that."

"I'm dying Buffy. It's two hundred and forty years too late, but it finally caught up to me."

"No… Angel…" He lifted a hand to stroke her cheek and used his thumb to wipe away a tear. Then the effort became too much for him and his arm became slack, and his eyes closed.

Buffy was crying profusely, pulling Angel up to hold to her body. Willow meanwhile, was staring at the cross that, on a whim, she'd placed on Angel's hand.

"Uh, Buffy…" It wasn't smoking.

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When Angel became aware of himself again, he was surrounded by a bright light. He couldn't feel much, but the demonic voice that had been ever-present at the back of his mind had disappeared. Everything was silent, except for a repetitive beeping noise that he just couldn't place. Beep, beep. He couldn't move, and he couldn't feel anything. But somehow, he knew things were going to be okay. Beep, beep.

Angel didn't know how long he remained like that, with nothing to occupy him besides the beeping in the background, before he heard voices. They were far away and indistinct, but he could just about make them out. Beep, beep.

"Is he going to be okay?" Angel recognised that voice. Beep, beep.

"He was in pretty bad shape. We've cleared a lot of fluid out of his lungs, put him on a respirator, tended to his bruises, and we got his heart started again. He's been given some morphine to ease the pain. Oh, and he seemed to have lost quite a lot of blood, but we were unable to find any sort of cut. Could he be anaemic?" Beep, beep.

"I don't know… possibly…" Yes, Angel was certain. That was Buffy's voice, he knew it. Beep, beep.

"Well, when was the last time he ate?" Beep, beep.

"What?" Why was she so surprised by that question? Beep, beep.

"If he is anaemic, he'll need a lot of iron in his diet. Do you know if he's eaten a big meal recently?" Beep, beep.

"Oh. Oh, no. I don't think he's eaten much in quite a long time." Who were they talking about? Beep, beep.

"Then he'll probably need a transfusion. I don't suppose you can tell us his blood type, can you?" Beep, beep.

"Uh, no. It never really came up. Look, just tell me if he's going to be okay. Please." Beep, beep.

"Well, he's as strong as an ox, or he'd be dead by now. He'll be very weak for a while, but you did the right thing bringing him here straight away. Physically he should be fine, but we don't know how long he was without oxygen. You have to realise that there could be brain damage. All I can tell you with any certainty is that you're going to have to wait and see." Beep, beep.

"Okay. Thanks." Beep, beep.

"You know, talking to him might help. It's not a scientifically-proven cure, but some people swear by it. I'll send someone over to do some blood tests and then we'll look for a donor." Beep, beep.

Angel felt one of the figures melt away into the ether, but Buffy came towards him. Having her presence by his side made him feel somehow alive, despite the impossibility. He tried to see where she was, but there was only the light. He tried to talk but no sound would come from his mouth. He had to get back to her. Then he heard her voice, so quiet. Beep, beep.

"Angel… Angel, come back to me, please. I need you here. You told me you love me, so you can't leave me now. You can't leave until I get a chance to tell you how much I love you too." Angel struggled through the light, getting back to her. He didn't stop until he could see her again in all her glory, from the golden hair to the tears glistening in her eyes. He called to her, louder and louder until he had to scream her name to the heavens. Beep, beep.

"Buffy…" The word came out weak and rasping, but she heard it. She leaped to his side, clutching his hand in hers, their fingers intertwining. Beep, beep.

"Angel! You're okay! You're awake. I was so worried." Her eyes were shining more brightly than ever before, and her smile warmed his soul. Beep, beep.

"Buffy, where…" She pressed a finger to his lips. Beep, beep.

"Shh… don't try to talk. You need to rest. We're in a hospital." Angel's eyes roamed around the room. The bright light that had surrounded him was nothing more than an electric strip light. He was on a bed, in a bare room with four white-washed walls. There was a vague smell of disinfectant in the air. Beep, beep.

"What's that noise?" he gasped, and her face creased into the most radiant smile he'd ever seen.

"That's your heartbeat."

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

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Angel couldn't believe it at first. After over two centuries, he'd regained his humanity. He was still a little light-headed from the drugs, so he couldn't feel his own heartbeat. Instead, he'd asked Buffy to help him into a sitting position so that he could watch the dancing dot on the EKG. Buffy, meanwhile, took great pleasure in pressing her ear against his chest, listening to the thumping coming straight from the source. They stayed like that for what seemed like an age, enjoying the closeness and the warmth of their bodies, until finally Buffy sat up on the bed next to him and looked him in the eye.

"So what happens now?" she asked, and Angel stopped to think.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to need to stock up my fridge back home. You know, I haven't had food for so long. Oh, and sunsets. I miss sunsets. One of these days we have to watch one."

"I mean, what happens with us?" Angel smiled, leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"We'll be okay," he promised. "We'll always be okay."

Just then, a nurse poked her head round the door.

"You're awake," she stated in utter disbelief, then walked into the room carrying a tray. There were a few bottles and a hypodermic syringe on it, as well as some cotton wool. Angel looked at her sceptically.

"Angel, honey, they need to take a bit of blood, to find out what blood type you are."

"Don't worry, I won't take much," she said, pouring some disinfectant onto a handful of cotton wool. "I'll be using the small needle."

"You call that a small needle?"

"Well, yeah, comparatively. You know, I have to say that I'm surprised. I thought you'd be out for hours." She rolled up his left sleeve and started to swab an area of skin. "During the operation, the doctor had you so pumped full of painkillers, we thought that'd kill you if nothing else did."

"The doctor did say he was strong as an ox."

"Oh, absolutely. He needed to be just to survive what happened. How did you get in that state in the first place?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Angel said, as she tied a tourniquet around his arm and put the needle in.

"I believe that. Anyway, it looks like you're a lot better now. You know your fiancé's been with you almost the whole time. Some orderlies actually had to stop her going into the operating theatre with you." Then she removed the syringe and the tourniquet and placed them both on the tray. "Okay, we'll be done with the tests soon, and then we'll try to get you a donor." And with that, she walked out of the room with the tray.

"Donor?" Angel asked once she was gone.

"Yeah, your blood count is low, or something, so they're going to give you a transfusion."

"With human blood?"

"Probably. Isn't that how they usually do transfusions?"

"Well tell them not to. I didn't use human blood when I was a vampire, I'm sure as hell not going to use it now that I'm human."

"But, Angel, you need it."

"Maybe not. Maybe it'll just take me a while to start producing blood cells on my own."

"I don't want to risk it. You're having the transfusion, and that's the end of it." He laughed quietly, and pulled her in for a hug.

"So, what did she mean by fiancé anyway?"

"Well, I… had to tell them something so they'd let me go with you, and I didn't want to push it so I said that we were engaged… kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Believe me, that's nothing. Just wait until you find out what your name is."

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"My name is Harris?" Angel yelled later, once given his release form. The entire gang had turned up for his discharge, all except for Jenny Calendar, who was still in shock after being possessed.

"Well, we had to tell them something," covered Xander, who wasn't best pleased with the situation either. "So I said you were my cousin and your parents were dead. That way, even if they check with my parents about it, they won't work out that it's a lie because my parents are deadbeats."

"Uhh… thanks."

"No problem, though fair warning to you, you are not invited into my home." Angel smiled.

"Actually I don't need to be invited any more, that's why we're in the hospital."

"I know, but I don't want you thinking that just because you have my name," at which they both shuddered involuntarily, "that makes you a part of the family. You'd fit right in, but I just don't like you."

"Right, got it. No reunions."

"No unions period." Angel laughed gently, then winced in pain. Buffy was immediately under his shoulder, asking what the problem was.

"It's nothing," he assured her. "I'm still a little sore, that's all." Giles coughed.

"Well, I think it's fascinating," he told them. "Once again, Angel has set a precedent for the vampire community. The first vampire to have a soul in recorded history is also the very first vampire to become human again. This will be something for the history books."

"No offence, Rupert, but all I want to do from now on is drop out of the history books." Giles smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

There was a pause, in which they all started to move towards the door. Suddenly, Xander clapped his hands together,

"So Dead Boy, former, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," said Angel as they reached the hospital entrance. "I've got this whole new world in front of me," at which the automatic doors slid open, flooding the room with sunlight. Angel and Buffy sighed with contentment. The hand on Buffy's shoulder squeezed her slightly tighter. "I think the first thing I'm going to do is go into town and get something to eat. Then I'll lounge about in the sun until sunset."

"You'll burn," warned Cordelia, eliciting an unexpected response from Xander.

"Ooh," he shouted, "that reminds me…" He reached into his pocket and when it emerged, he was holding a bottle, which he pressed into Angel's hand.

"Sunblock?"

"Yeah, I mean you're so pale you're going to need it. It can't be healthy to stay out of the sun for two hundred years."

"Thanks." And with that, they moved into the day. Angel lifted his free hand to shield his eyes. Blinking, he thought to himself, things were going to be different from now on. Everything was going to be different.

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_Angel opened his eyes and looked at the field around him. It was filled with light and a soft humming that imbued him with joy, starkly different to the cold dark plane that had been his home for the past hundred years. Where was that humming coming from? He looked around and eventually saw a neighbouring field that he had not been able to see before. And there, at the edge of the field, was a familiar blonde girl waving at him. Her soul shone so brightly it beckoned him and he walked towards her. They could be together now. And they would be. Always.

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I know the ending's a little truncated, but I told the story I wanted to tell, which I think is enough.


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